Supply & Demand
by Victorian Rush
Summary: Edward is sent to South City undercover investigating a series of disappearances and find himself in deep trouble when he is taken captive by a human trafficking ring. Now it is up to Roy and the team solve the case and find him before he is sold and they lose him for good. Will they successful? Parental!Roy
1. Chapter 1

**I posted this on my AO3 account but decided to post it here as well. This is an FMA multi-chaptered fic. My first one too. Yayy! **

**First things first, I just gotta say something. Having seen both series, I can tell you that I am personally very unhappy with how 03 ended. It was just a poor attempt at a bittersweet ending and I just don't like it. I ldo think the idea of having Ed and Al separated is a great one but the way they executed it was just bad. I am going to write my own one shot with how I think 03 should have ended so be on the look out for that.**

**But anyways, I digress. This takes place after 03 ended but for this story, lets just say 03 ended like Brotherhood did with Ed losing his alchemy. He retired from the military. Or at least he tried to. You'll see as you read what I mean.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own FullMetal Alchemist and I am not making a profit from this story.

**Am I the only one who finds putting a disclaimer in to get really repetitive? Plus, if I owned FMA, do you really think I would be writing fanfics? Yeah, I don't think I would be.**

**Anyways, enjoy peeps.**

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If there was ever a case that made Colonel Roy Mustang want to bang his head up against a wall several times until he is unconscious, it is truly this one. He hated everything about it. As if it is not bad enough to learn that several college kids had disappeared in South City, to find out it is possible they may be victims of a human trafficking ring is beyond sickening.

Just the fact that there are some people can think that of people as merchandise waiting to be purchased is extremely disturbing. He has to stop this and bring these criminals to justice.

He did send a couple of his men to investigate the disappearances but that proved to be useless. Whoever these people are, they sure do know how to cover their tracks well. There is not a single clue as to who they are and where they are keeping their victims. Havoc came up with the idea of sending some more men undercover as potential targets. The only issue is most of Mustang's men are too old and no criminal mind in their right mind would ever look at any of them, which is why Hawkeye suggested sending Edward Elric up with them.

Mustang was against that right from the beginning.

As much as he hated the idea of sending a FullMetal in as potential target, it made a lot of sense. He is in the same age range as all of the victims and blond. They only seem to be going after blonds for some odd reason. It made sense but Mustang still did not like the idea.

His relationship with FullMetal is quite unique. The kid is extremely vocal, he has no problem with letting everyone else around him know exactly how he is feeling. He has butt heads with the Colonel before on several different occasions. But deep down, Mustang is sure of one thing, FullMetal really does care about and respects him as his superior.

It would be a lie if Mustang said he didn't care for the kid as well. He does, he cares about the kid more than he would like to admit. Of course he would never come out and say it but the kid got under his skin, which is what made this decision even harder. He had no problem with sending another military officer undercover as a target but FullMetal? There is no way he could ever do that.

Although he was reluctant to, Mustang gave him and decided to call FullMetal. He asked the kid to come to Central, which he did. He was surprised that Edward agreed but nonetheless, the kid did. Before they left, Mustang had Havoc promise he would look after the kid so nothing happens to him.

So why is it things never seem to work out that way?

A couple of weeks since and they had not made much progress with the case. No other kids went missing during that time but it still did nothing to ease Mustang's uneasiness. He did not like FullMetal being up there, he did not like it at all.

The sooner this mission ends, the sooner he gets the kid to come back home. He will take any help he can get at this point.

Then, Mustang got the call he had been fearing. FullMetal had disappeared. According to Havoc, he went for a run with a friend and never came back. There is not a single doubt in his mind that he had been targeted and is now being held prisoner somewhere up there, which he hates more than anything. He has to do something to solve this case and get his subordinate out of that place. Which is exactly why he called for help.

A knock on the door caught Mustang's attention and he looked up to see his First Lieutenant standing in the door, saluting him. "Sir, General Armstrong is here to see you."

He nodded. "Great, send her in. Thanks, Lieutenant."

Soon enough, Mustang could see General Armstrong and Major Miles walk into his office. He greeted them both with a pleasant smile. "It's so nice to see the both of you. Thank you for coming."

"What do you want?" The blond woman demanded with a displeased look on her face. It is no secret that General Armstrong does not like Roy Mustang, the woman has not exactly hidden that little fact. But if he is going to solve this case and get his subordinate out of there before he loses him for good, then Mustang is in desperate need of help. Armstrong is darn good at what she does. If anyone could help him, it is her.

"Look, I wouldn't ask you this unless I absolutely have to but we have no choice." Mustang began, his eyes pleading with her to hear him out. "I need your help."

_Oh, this is rich._ Olivier folded her arms across her chest. _This sniveling pansy needs my help. I always knew the day would come when this loser came crying to me for help because he can't run his own office for the life of him._ "With what?"

"Take a seat, please." He asked the two, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk. When both of the visitors did so, he continued. "A few weeks ago, a body turned up in South City. We are not exactly sure of what happened or what was the cause of death but one thing was sure. This kid had been through hell."

"What makes you say that?"

"He was tortured," Mustang looked at her with a serious look all over his face. "Over the next couple of months, several other kids disappeared without a trace. I sent several of my men to South City to investigate but so far, we've gotten no leads."

"So, do you think these kids are all being held captive by some madman?" Armstrong asked him, curious as to what his response would be.

"Not exactly," he told her before looking over at his first lieutenant, who stood next to him by his desk. "We actually think these kids have been taken captive by a human trafficking ring."

That got Olivier's attention. She has heard rumors about a human trafficking ring located up north somewhere going after college kids. She does not exactly get why though. If Mustang's assumption is correct, which she is pretty is, she hates to think of what those children are going through. She can see why Mustang asked for her help.

"I did send several of my men to South City undercover to investigate and, to make matters worse, one of them has gone missing."

"You think they took him, don't you?"

Mustang nodded in response. "Yes, I'm sure of it. I don't know what else could have happened."

Olivier nodded as she took in everything Mustang has told her.

"Please Olivier, I didn't know who else to turn to."

The Colonel is practically begging for help, which is something he normally does not do. That is how Olivier could tell he is being serious about this. So she sighed and looked up at him. "Of course we'll help."

"Thanks, Olivier, we owe you one."

"Just want to make one thing clear, I am not helping you. I hate what you have gotten off your men into and I want to help get him out of there as soon as possible."

Typical Olivier. Roy chuckled with what she said. _It really does not matter as long as you help._

"Which one is it?" She could not held but ask, curious to know which one of Mustang's subordinates the ring had gotten their hands on.

Roy sighed. He knows the second she finds out that it is Edward, he is going to get chewed out. She knows Edward, Alex Louis did send him and Al up to her during their journey. She really does care a great deal about that kid. She is going to be so mad when she learns about that. Heck, Mustang is even mad at himself for involving the kidin the first place. He never should have given in. At least then Edward would be safe in Resembool, not in the clutches of a human trafficking ring.

"It's the former FullMetal Alchemist, Edward Elric."

—

How did Edward ended up getting himself into this mess is beyond him? He wishes he could tell you he has the answer to that but the truth is, he does not. It was supposed to be a clean cut case but of course, things do not go as planned.

They never do but what else is new?

He was supposed to be retired from the military. He has been ever since he lost his alchemy following the fight with Dante. He can never seem to get away, which was clear the second Mustang called him and asked him for his help with a case. He does not even know what he was thinking when he agreed to help. Long story short, Mustang sent him and Havoc undercover. He had to pose a college student and a target for the criminals.

The second he arrived in South City, he could tell something is not right. It's kind of hard to explain what exactly it was but the entire city gave him the creeps. Last time he was here, he had the same feeling but it wasn't as bad as it was this time. Something in the atmosphere was off, which is why Edward wanted to solve tihs case as quickly as possible so he can get the heck out.

While undercover, Ed ended up making a friend named Luke while at college. The kid was in a lot of his classes and the two immediately hit it off. They hung out a lot on campus and eventually off campus as well.

One day really stood out for him. The day had just started. Luke called him up and asked him if he wanted to join him for a run. Edward said yes and now he wishes he hadn't. During the run, a van pulled up next to the two of them and two men jumped out and grabbed both him and Luke, pulling them inside the van.

Edward, being the normal spitfire he is, put up one hell of a fight and ended up having to be knocked out. When he awoke, he found out they had separated him and Luke and that he was locked in a room that resembles a prison cell. It was small, about the same size as a bathroom. There was a dirty old mattress in the corner of the room that Edward is forced to use as a bed and a bucket he has been forced to use when he has to go to the bathroom.

What are they planning? What are they going to do to him? Where exactly is Luke? Is he okay? Have they done anything to harm him? So many questions he has that have yet to be answered.

Also, he could not help but wonder if they know about him. Do they know that he is a part of the military or that he is a former state alchemist? He never said anything to anyone so he is going to have to say no, no one knows the truth about him and, to be honest, he would prefer to keep it that way. If they are to ever find out about that, there is not a single doubt that they would kill him.

Who knows how long he has been here for. He has no way of telling time, seeing as no light was coming in and out of that cell.

He is freezing. Whoever is in charge of this ring didn't believe in turning the heat so here he is sitting in a cell. Upon arriving, he has been stripped down to his underwear and a tank top with a thin sheet from the mattress wrapped his tiny body to hopefully warm him up but it did not seem to be working, he is still shivering.

He hates to think of what could end up happening to him but the longer he is stuck here, the worse it is going to get for him. He's heard the stories and more than likely, he is going to be sold to someone for a price and just the thought of that happening sickens Edward. He is not a piece of property that can be sold off to the highest bidder. He is a living, breathing human being. How anyone can lock up another person and treat them as merchandise is beyond him.

He can only hope the team can find him and save him before that happens. He has faith in Mustang and his men. Havoc has to know by now that he is missing and has called in for help by now. If they are on the case, they will find him and get him the heck out of this hellhole.

If only he could tell them himself where he is being kept, even though it's not like he, himself, knew where he is being held.

Suddenly, Edward could hear the sound of someone fumbling with a lock on his cell but he looked up to see one of the leader's goons unlocking his cell and entering it. "Get up!" The man commanded. "My boss wishes to speak with you."

Wonderful. Just what I need now. Ed said nothing, turning his head that was resting on his knees so he is staring at the wall of his cell. This scumbag will be damned if he thinks Edward is going anywhere with him. Why would he? So he can be sold to another sick freak? Yeah, no. That will never happen. He would never allow it to. Not now, not ever.

The man obviously is getting annoyed because Ed could hear a long sigh escape from his mouth. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours, kid."

"Why should I? Just so you can turn around and sell me as if I'm some sort of property that belongs to you? No thanks."

"You _are_ a piece of property, you might as well just get used to it because you aren't going anywhere." Ed could not help but laugh sarcastically at that? Is that what these people think? Okay then. "Besides, ain't nobody gonna want you with an attitude like that."

"So, are you going to come with me or not?" Edward just rolled his eyes and turned his head so he was looking in the other direction.

The man just about had enough. "Fine, have it your way, brat." Without another word, he stormed into the cell and grabbed Edward by his braid. All Edward could manage is to grunt in pain as he is forced to his feet by his hair. "Look, kid. No one is going to have the patience to put up with that disobedient attitude of yours. We can easily dispose of you sooner than planned so unless you want to meet an early grave, behave yourself. Got it?"

Edward just glared up at the man but refused to say anything. "Good boy. Now, let's go."

With that, the man grabbed Edward by his elbow and harshly dragged him out of the cell. As Edward was dragged through the row of cells, his eyes widened. Many other teenage boys and girls around the same age as him are locked up, just as he has been. He is supposed to be the one freeing them and returning them to their families. He is not supposed to be sitting in a cell among them.

But there is hope. The rest of the military are on to these people. They cannot keep this up forever. Sooner or later, they will be caught and all of their victims will be returned their families.

_Don't you worry, they are coming. They are going to get us all out of this nightmare._

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**Poor Edward. I feel so evil for putting him through that but what do you expect. He is my favorite after all. **

**I'm not sure how often I will be updating this but I will do my best. School is killing me. Luckily there is only a few more weeks left until I'm off for the summer and I can't wait. So, until then, peace!**

**Vic is out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for the delay with getting this chapter up for you guys. I really wanted to get this up before finals start. I will finished with school on the 22nd so I have a feeling updates will be more often. **

**Anyways, I'm seeing the Code Geass movie, Lelouch of the Re;Surrection this week and words cannot express how excited I am. I loved Code Geass, it is great. It falls short of my all time favorite anime. FMA:B still holds that title and it probably always will. **

**I don't own FullMetal Alchemist or Edward or Roy. If I did, I would have had Roy adopt Ed and Al at the end of the series.**

**Anyways, enjoy.. **

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Edward's room was kept quite neat. That is one thing Roy noticed. It isn't something shocking, FullMetal has always said he likes to keep all of his belongings neat and organized. It makes it easier for him to find something he needs and Roy can't say he blames his young subordinate since he is the same way.

It made it easy for him to find out what his young subordinate has been researching. After all, he never thought for a second FullMetal would come to this town undercover and not be putting together his own investigation into finding the ring that has all the missing kids.

No matter what any other military official says, there is not a single doubt in his mind Edward was taken. He has heard the whispers from several different military members back in Central as he and his team were getting to leave for South City. They think FullMetal didn't like this city and took off, going back to Resembool. This is not the case; Mustang is sure of that. Edward would have let his superior know what he was doing.

There has to be some clue in this room that will help him find FullMetal. There has to be.

So far, he has seen nothing. Nothing that would help him at least and he can't stand it. What he mostly can't stand is the fact that his subordinate was in the place and he has no wire or backup. If they find out about who he truly is, he hates to think of what they will do to him.

"Boss," he heard Havoc call out to him, "The chief was definitely on to something."

"What makes you say that?" He asked Havoc as he made over to where Havoc has been searching. The second lieutenant was by the desk in Edward's room, looking at several of his papers. That's when he could see the flyers in Havoc's hands. "These are flyers from the missing teens in this case."

"Yeah." Havoc flipped the flyer over and looked at the back. FullMetal had written the words night club on the back. The second one had the word 'mall' written on it. "He was putting together his own investigation. He figured out where all the victims have been taken from."

Mustang could see the uneasiness on Havoc's face, and it entirely concerns to him. "What's wrong?"

Havoc turned to look at his commanding officer. "Nothing."

Mustang shot him his famous don't give me that look.

"It's just.." Havoc began to say but paused, trying to figure out exactly what to say. "This feels too easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Why would he leave this hanging around? He didn't make any attempt to hide it or anything. That's not like him." Havoc paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling in Edward's room. "He also never shared any of this with me at all while we've been up here." Realization dawned upon Havoc's face. "Boss, he left this here as a clue for us."

Mustang eyes widened, also coming to the same conclusion as Havoc. "He knew he was being targeted, so he left this here for us to find."

This kid is something else. And it is true, Edward is a brilliant kid. He is always quick to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. That is what made him very important to the military, even after losing his alchemy.

Mustang wishes he could understand why Edward retired from the military after losing his alchemy but he cannot. The kid would easily be one of the best detectives to come out of the military. He has tried to get Edward to change his mind, but it proved to be useless. He would not budge. Eventually, he decided it would be best to allow the kid to get away from the military.

"This is my fault, isn't it, boss?" Havoc's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the Second Lieutenant, who took a seat on Edward's bed and had his hands resting on his face. "I should have been paying more attention to him. I should have made him talk to me. Maybe then they wouldn't have gotten to him."

That caught Roy off guard. He would be lying if he said he is not angry about the current predicament he found himself and his team in, but his anger is not directed at Havoc. There is nothing he could have done to prevent things from turning out differently.

Besides, they need to focus on the most crucial task. Solving this case and finding Edward before it is too late.

"Don't beat yourself up." He took a seat next to his subordinate. "This is not your fault."

"Yes, it is!" Havoc argued. Probably not the best idea for him to argue with his superior but he did not care. "You asked me to look out for him, and I blew it. I let you down, boss."

"No, you didn't," Mustang claimed, but Havoc did not hear a word he said. He grabbed Havoc by the shoulders and forced his subordinate to look at him. "Listen to me for a second, will you?" Havoc said nothing, so Mustang continued, "FullMetal knew he was being targeted. He asked the right question to the right person. That put a target on his back." Roy explained, "you had no way of knowing, Jean. Besides, we are going to find him. He's going to be okay. We are not going to lose him." Mustang took a deep breath and sighed, letting go of Havoc in the process.

"I'm not going to lose him." He muttered underneath his breath, hoping that his Second Lieutenant did not hear that but Havoc did, indeed, hear it and it made Havoc feel a little better, but he still could not help but feel as though he somehow is to blame. He should have looked out for the chief more, He was entrusted with Edward's safety by his commanding officer while they were undercover and he failed. Now, the kid is in the hands of a human trafficking ring and who knows what they are doing to him. This is his fault. If anything happens to Edward, it will be all on him and he has no one to blame except himself.

There has to be something he can do make this right somehow and save the chief. But what?

After about an hour, they finished searching the room but they did not find anything else that could point them in the direction of finding Edward.

"Dammit!" Roy cursed. That is not the outcome he has been desiring. Not one bit. He balled his hand into a fist and punched the wall hard to leave a mark. Next thing he knew, his fist exploded with pain and he groaned, gripping it with his other hand.

Havoc was by his side within a matter of second. "Sir?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Havoc." He looked and glared at the wall, his hand still hurt like heck but he did not care. Why should he? His youngest subordinate is, no doubt, suffering through worse than he is and the more time he spends at that place, the worse it will get for him. "This is nothing compared to what FullMetal is going through right now."

As mad as Roy is at himself as he is because of this mess he is in, he meant what he said about finding Edward. Edward has always been significant to Roy and he cannot afford to lose him. Before his passing, Maes would always joke around with Roy, calling him Ed and Al his surrogate sons, seeing as how he still went out of his way to check up on them and make sure they are okay. Before, he would always think Maes was crazy. Edward and Alphonse do have a father, who was absent for most of their lives. As time went on, he began to accept that he cares a lot for those two, as if they are his children and he needs them in his life.

He cannot imagine life without them. Either of them.

—

"Yeah, he is in some of my classes. Never really talked to him though, he seems cool. Come to think of it; the only person he talked to was Luke." The young college girl told Mustang.

That caught Mustang's attention. "Luke?"

"He's another kid in our class. Dark hair. Doesn't have much to say. They ended getting paired together on a project and the rest is history. I always see the two of them together on campus." She explained. "I don't know how he became friends with Luke, of all people, to be honest."

"What do you mean by that."

"It's just that Luke is quiet and reserved, never really has much to say. He is also very timid and is too afraid to stand up for himself. Edward is the direct opposite. He's loud and boisterous if you know what I mean." I know what you mean, I know exactly what you mean and yep, that sounds exactly like FullMetal. "He has no problem letting others know if he has a problem with them or not. They are nothing alike."

"Great. Thank you for your help." Roy smiled before going over to where Hawkeye was questioning several other students on campus.

"Umm," she. began, which caused the Colonel to stop. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you asking about Edward and Luke? Does it have anything to do with the fact that neither of them came in today?"

That should not have surprised Mustang as much as it did. He knew Edward would not be coming in but Luke being absent as well did shock him. Is Luke the kid that Edward was running with? "I can't say, I'm sorry." Which was not a lie; he is not allowed to discuss the details of a case with civilians. "But thank you again for all your help."

She smiled one last time before turning around and walking into the building.

Mustang took a second to scan the area for his first lieutenant. The blond woman was questioning other students on campus so surely; she is still somewhere in the area. He spotted her a couple of feet away from where he is, asking some other students about Edward. He approached her when the two boys went into the building. "Did they give you anything that could help us?"

"No, sir. They have seen Edward around campus but don't have any classes with him." She looked at Mustang sadly.

"I see, I didn't get much to go off either, besides FullMetal made friends with another student named Luke." He frowned.

"Sir?"

"I'm fine, Lieutenant."

Riza has known Roy for years and she can tell when something is bothering Mustang and something is bothering him. As for what, she has no idea what and she would like

to know. "Sir." There is no use trying to deny anything around Hawkeye. She can see right through him and can quickly tell when something is wrong with him. She has been by his side for a long time and knows him better than anyone else. He is sure that she also feels the same way about him. The bond the two of them share runs deeper than just him being her commanding officer.

Of course, it is impossible for the two of them to act upon it. The military has stringent rules about two officers dating, especially a high ranking official and his subordinate.

But Riza is and probably will always be very important to Roy. He cannot imagine not having her around.

"You see, if my suspicions are correct, this Luke kid was the same kid who FullMetal went jogging with the day he disappeared and if my suspicions are correct, they took him too."

"So, what seems to be the issue?" Hawkeye asked, upon seeing that Roy seemed to be just as uneasy as he was before.

"The people from the ring we're investigating only seem to be going after blond college kids." Riza knew that which is exactly why she suggested sending Edward up in the first place and she beats herself up for that every single day. "This kid isn't blond; he has dark hair. Who knows if he is still alive."

Roy is fully aware of the fact that Hawkeye has been blaming herself for Edward's abduction, just like Havoc and Roy himself have, but ten times more than them. She is the one who suggested sending him in, after all. But Roy is, in no way, angry with her. He knows precisely why she suggested it and holds no resentment towards her for their current predicament. Right now, their main focus is solving this case and getting Edward back. Nothing else matters, not to him or the rest of his team.

"Let's go find Armstrong and Miles." Roy suggested," maybe they've been having better luck than we have." "Yes, sir."

With that, Hawkeye and Mustang went back to the area where he and Olivier split up upon arriving at the university. Olivier and Miles did not stray too far from the main entrance to the school and they have been waiting for Mustang and Hawkeye. "Hopefully you have had better luck than we have."

Miles looked at him sadly and shook his head. Roy could feel the disappointment settling in. They are no closer to solving this case and saving Edward than they were when they first arrived in South City and the chances of finding Edward alive keep going down with every second they are investigating. The clock is ticking too fast for Roy's liking.

Hawkeye's phone began to ring and Roy's first Lieutenant pulled it out of her pocket. "Excuse me," she stepped away briefly to answer the call. "Hawkeye!"

"You have been quiet, even for you." That is one observation he made about Olivier and he could not help but wonder what she is thinking. Is she angry at him? He wishes he had an idea but he does not.

It's not like he blames her for being angry with him if that is the case. He is right there along with her.

Much to Roy's surprise, she took the news of Edward's disappearance rather well. She did throw a fit and belittle him like he thought she would. He did not know what to think. Either she is very good at keeping her emotions check or she does not care about Edward as much as he initially thought.

Personally, Roy is leaning more towards the former.

"What do you want me to say?" She questioned, refusing to look at him. "You're the one who screwed up and allowed your subordinate to be kidnapped."

Yep, she is for sure playing the blame game. It is not surprising to Roy at all. "Look, I-"He began to make an argument but never got to finish his thought.

"Sir." Hawkeye joined the group and caught everyone's attention. They could also tell she has some bad news to share with them, judging by the horrified look on her face. "They found a body. They think it could be Edward's."

* * *

**A/N: I'm evil, aren't I? To leave you hanging with such a cliffhanger, aren't I? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until the next time, I'm out. Later. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Guess who is alive. First of all, I just wanna say thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed this story. It is what keeps me going. Truly thank you. I'm so sorry about the delay on getting this chapter up. So much has happened. I'm off from school for the summer (yayy) but now I'm working a lot of hours now (boo) but it's all good. I'm still here. **

**Anyways, I do not own FMA. If I did, lets just say Edward would hate me. not that he already doesn't. **

**Enjoy.. **

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Roy could feel his heart racing a million miles per minute in his chest. It's like he has been thrown from one nightmare straight into another one and all he wants to do is wake up. But he knows that is impossible. He is awake now and this is reality.

This is actually happening

The ring he has been trying to track for months. The ring that had abducted his youngest subordinate and kept him captive struck again and a body had been found and not just that but according to what Hawkeye was told, the body most likely is Edward's. It's hard to say, though. The body they found, which is, for sure, male, had been badly mutilated to the point where it is unrecognizable but they believe it could be Edward's.

It pained Roy to think where he is currently heading. A crime scene to identify the body of a young boy but this boy was not just any boy. He is a boy who Roy had looked out for since he was eleven years old when the kid first joined the military is dead. A boy who Roy cares a great deal about just as much as he cares about his other subordinates. A boy who, along with his younger brother, has been dubbed as his surrogate son by his subordinates and especially by his dead best friend, Maes Hughes. And the body that he is currently on his way to identify could be his. That is something Roy feared when he first heard from Havoc that Edward had disappeared. That a dead body would turn up and Roy would be called in to identify it.

Nothing is killing Roy more than that, especially since this whole thing is his fault. He has no one to blame but himself. He is the one who agreed to send in FullMetal. Now the boy's death is on him.

_I promised him everything would be okay. I promised him nothing would happen to him. And I failed. Alphonse is going to kill me._

Roy could not help but feel even more guilt when he thought of Edward's younger brother Alphonse. Edward is the only family the boy has left. The boy's lost their mother at such a young age and their father passed a few months after the fight with Dante. Alphonse is going to be heartbroken when he learns that not only has Edward gone missing but he is most likely in the hands of a human trafficking ring.

He looked to his right and he could tell Hawkeye is not holding up any better, mainly because he knows she blames herself for getting them into this predicament in the first place. Maybe even more than Roy is blaming himself.

The crime scene is crowded, Roy realizes as soon as he stepped out of the car. So many people heard of the commotion and decided to check it out, wondering what exactly is going on. Word had spread among the city that another body had been found and the entire town is on edge. They have been for weeks now. He has heard the rumors. Everyone thinks it is the work of a serial killer, who has been targeting college kids. Little do they know how wrong they are.

It is not the work of a serial killer, far from it. It is the work of a human trafficking ring. Does it get any worse than that? No, probably not.

Mustang had to push his way through the crowd of people to get to the crime scene. An officer was standing guard so Mustang flashed him his badge and proceeded to lift the caution tape enough to slide through with ease. Hawkeye followed suit. His heart dropped in his chest when he laid eyes on the body, which has been covered by a sheet.

"Colonel Mustang?" One of the officers asked him. Roy looked up and nodded his head. He remained quiet and listened to what they are telling him, except he could not focus on the words coming out of their mouths. He didn't want to look until it is time but he found himself looking down at the body and he is sure he stopped breathing for a second.

This is my fault. This is all my fault. I made a promise to him. His squeezed his eyes shut and balled his hand into a tight fist. And I broke it. I failed. I'm so sorry, FullMetal. So sorry.

"Sir?" He could hear his First Lieutenant's voice coming from his right and he could also feel a hand on his wrist. His head snapped over Hawkeye's direction and he looked at her. She just glanced over to the officer, who is kneeling beside the body.

The officer's hands are on the sheet, ready to pull it. "Whenever you're ready."

All of a sudden, he felt a small hand grab a hold of his and he looked at Lieutenant Hawkeye, who said nothing. Why should she? Mustang knew exactly what she is telling him; she did not even have to say a thing. Her message is loud and clear, without also having to be spoken out loud. _I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Let's do this together._

Although Roy would never come out and say it to Hawkeye, that did bring him a lot more comfort than she would ever realize.

Slowly, he brought his head back in the direction of the officer and the body and he nodded his head before he braced himself. He watched as the officer pulled the sheet back and Mustang's eyes widened in horror. Not because he recognized the body but because of the condition the body is in. It is in deplorable condition, it has beaten badly but that isn't even the worst part of it. The victims face is unrecognizable, so much so that Mustang cannot identify if the body is Edward's or not by the face alone.

But, judging from the height and weight and especially the build of it, Mustang is sure the body is Edward's and he could feel his heart breaking.

"What the hell are they doing to these kids?" Mustang said to no one in particular, his eyes never leaving the body laying on the floor.

"Hard to say," the officer explained. "But this kid has been through hell."

_That much is obvious._ Mustang bitterly thought. _What are the odds, FullMetal? You survived through so much worse when you tried to Al's body back from the gate. You get your arm back as well and then immediately fall victim to sick and twisted human trafficking ring._

_Not to worry, I will avenge you though. _

He could almost here FullMetal's voice now, telling him that he better all while calling him a bastard because FullMetal loves to call him that. _Only you, FullMetal. Only you._ That is one thing he is going to miss about FullMetal. His snarky attitude and his hotheadedness. He makes it seem as thought he does not care but deep down, way way way deep down, he does. FullMetal always wore his heart on his sleeve, that is just the kind of person he was.

His sleeve. Wait a minute!

"This isn't him." All heads immediately snapped in Mustang's direction, but he could not bring himself to care. "This isn't Edward."

"Are you sure about this?" One officer asked him.

Of course, he is. "Yes, I am." He said, gesturing to the body. "FullMetal has a scar on his shoulder from when a fox attacked him as a child. Look at the body. Do you see a scar on the shoulder? No, because this is not Edward."

Roy could not help but smile. This is not FullMetal. He is not dead. He is still out there somewhere.

Just as quickly as it appeared on his face, the smile faded. Edward may not be dead now, that may be true but for how much longer? Plus, chances are The Ring still have him and who knows what they are doing to him. Who knows what they have already done to him. He may not even be alive.

_Don't worry, FullMetal. I will get you the hell out of that place so hang in there a little longer. Just a little bit longer. _

—

"Edward?" A familiar voice called out to him but Ed is too exhausted to try to comprehend who exactly that voice belongs to. No, instead, all he could think about is the amount of pain he is in. Aside from the fact that his head is throbbing, every bone in his body hurt. Seriously, it seems as though there is not a single part of Edward that has not been injured.

What the hell happened to him? The last thing he remembers is being taken to the room, which is the main room of the warehouse. After that, everything is a blur. He cannot remember a thing. He has no idea what has happened or what his captors have done to him but judging by the amount of pain he is; he knew they did something to him.

Aside from the fact that his whole body hurts like hell, he feels like death. He has been drunk enough times to know what being hungover feels like and that is precisely how he feels now. What is going on?

"Hey, Ed?" The same voice called out to him but Edward still paid the owner no attention. Instead, he pushed himself up so he is sitting on the mattress and he held a hand up to massage a temple to hopefully help him get rid of this terrible headache all while he found himself trying hard to remember what happened and what his captors did to him in the main room but it is no use. It is as if his entire memory has been wiped clean.

"Edward?!" This time, the same voice snapped, rather loudly. It did end up working; whoever it is, they now have his attention.

"What?" His head snapped up on he found himself staring at Luke, who is locked in the cell in front of him? Immediately, his anger subsided and he shot Luke an apologetic look. "Luke?"

Said boy nodded his head. "Yeah, it's me." He then gave Edward a sad look, obviously upset about the state Edward is in. "Are you okay? You look terrible."

"I feel terrible." As soon as those words left Edward's mouth, everything came back to him. All the memories of what captors did to him in the main room. As soon as he was brought into the main hall, his hands had been chained above his head and he had been tortured.

One of their clients is a freak who loves to see kids getting tortured. They did everything from beating the crap out of Edward to waterboarding him. They threw an already damp towel over his face so Edward could not breathe and, from there, proceeded to pour water all over his face slowly. His lungs felt like they were on fire. After what seemed like an entirety to him, they stopped and removed the towel before bringing him back to his cell.

To make matters worse, the guy who brought Edward back to his cell is a sick freak. The guy kept smelling his hair while bringing his captive back to his cell. He also let his hand linger on Edward's waist a lot longer than he should have.

_Great, could it get any worse than that?_ Edward asked himself. _I'm better off not asking, somehow it will._

That is the last thing he remembers before waking up with Luke in front of him.

"Oh, god," Edward muttered under his breath so Luke would not hear him. He opened his eyes, which was a big mistake because it only seemed to irritate his already pounding eyes so he closed them again. This headache would not go away, no matter what he did. Maybe he should try to keep them closed until his headache passes and who knows how long it will be before that happens.

As his headache started to subside, Edward could not help but notice something odd about the cell he found himself locked in. "This isn't the cell they had me in originally." It is true. The cell his captors originally put him was on the left side of the hallway. The one he is currently locked in is on the right side.

Luke nodded his head. "Yeah, they put us all into different cells a while ago."

"How long ago was this and why don't I remember a thing?"

The dark-haired kid placed a finger underneath his chin. "I'm not sure how long but if I had to take a guess, I'd say a couple of days ago. And you were out the entire time. I guess that they drugged you."

Shit! Edward cursed at himself as the realization dawns upon his face. His captors gave him a water bottle when they put him in the cell. He drank the whole thing. Come to think of it; this is not the first time he felt something was off when they gave him some water. They have been drugging him the whole time so he would be easier to deal with. How come he never considered this before now? He is so stupid. He should have known that. Dammit Ed, why are you so foolish? You should have known.

"Ed," Luke shakily calls his name, which got his attention. He looks up at the boy, "do you know what they're going to do to us?"

The blond closed his eyes and nodded his head. As much as he wishes this is not the case, he knows exactly what they are planning to do with him and Luke, as well as the rest of the captives in the warehouse and he hates it. He truly hates it.

"Yeah." He said, not wanting to sugarcoat the harsh truth for Luke. "They're going to sell us."

_Come on, you rat-faced bastard. What is keeping you?_ Edward looks at the wall bitterly while thinking of his commanding officer. Get me the hell out of this place.

* * *

**Yes, Ed is alive. Did you think I'd kill him off? Yeah, that won't ever happen, not with me. I love Ed too much to kill him in the second chapter. But, I hope you know this means it is going to get worse for him from here on out. Yeah, he's going to hate by the end of the story. **

**Anyways, I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Laters. **


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